Rebuilding a 2003 115hp Evinrude Ficht - Moderated Discussion Areas

  ContinuousWave
  Whaler
  Moderated Discussion Areas
  ContinuousWave: Whaler Repairs/Mods
  Rebuilding a 2003 115hp Evinrude Ficht

search | FAQ | profile | register | author help

Author Topic:   Rebuilding a 2003 115hp Evinrude Ficht

ThompsonSearaider1983 posted 10-23-2013 08:13 PM ET (US)
Hello everyone hope all is well, just about 2 months ago my 2003 115hp Evinrude Ficht Ram blew up on a lake. We were water tubing for a few hours and had no problems at all. After a few hours I came back to the boat to take it for a run by myself and after 1 1/2 hours on full throttle the motor seized up. After disassembling the power head it appears the wrist pin bearing on cylinder #2 has broken and sent aluminum everywhere in the motor. I even had shards of aluminum shoot out the intake. Took it to the Evinrude dealer and I only have one code from 50 hours ago for overheating, it was from a few years ago when I got some weeds in the water intake but I cleared it up and the motor restarted with no issues. Other than that, there are no codes on my motor. The mechanic tested all the engine systems and everything checks out fine. On the cylinder where the bearing broke it appears that the cylinder ran lean compared to the other 3 cylinders. Totally dry, zero carbon on the heads or piston which is unlike the other 3 cylinders which have mild carbon and have oil residue. I was told it's a possibility that the injector ran lean, I called DFI Technologies and they said it's highly unlikely because the 2003 motors have the updates done to the injectors and it's a low hour motor (187 hours). He suggested it could be detonation, I don't really think it could be from that because I get a full tank of fresh fuel before every trip. The gas station I go to is Exxon and sells tons of gas every day because it's on a highway. The mechanic checked both 10 micron fuel filters/water separators and both were clean, same with the oil filters and oil tank. No water in the fuel or oil. Now the boat did sink 3 years ago and I did all the proper procedures of blowing out the fuel lines, blowing out the oil lines ect the whole 9 yards... I literally rebuilt the entire boat before using it again, as for the motor I had it running 3 days after it sank because I was waiting on new replacement relays. I unplugged every electrical connection, cleaned them and put dielectric grease before reconnecting everything. Within one hour of retrieving the boat I removed the sparkplugs, flushed the engine block with fresh water and while jumping the starter I sprayed a can of fogging oil through the intake. I also sprayed another can of fogging oil in all 4 cylinders. Anyways I got another 2 seasons out of the motor before it blew. No warning signals, no rough running or symptoms of any kind when the motor blew at 5,850 RPM. Any suggestions as to why the motor blew up? Thanks!
PeteB88 posted 10-24-2013 10:27 AM ET (US)
It's a FICHT? Time for ETEC. or Yamaha.
Jefecinco posted 10-24-2013 11:04 AM ET (US)
Only 187 hours on a 10 year old motor is surprising. A wrist pin bearing failure with so few hours of use is also surprising. Running the engine for 90 minutes at WOT is uncommon. That kind of use will certainly serve as a good stress test.
From your description my best guess is that the bearing was defective or the installation was imperfect. Was the engine running when the boat sank? The sinking episode and the efforts to save the engine following may have caused some shock to the piston/rod assembly of the #2 cylinder.
If Seahorse will add his opinion you'll probably have the best answer you're going to get.
Butch
ThompsonSearaider1983 posted 10-24-2013 11:41 PM ET (US)
Thanks for the replies, the engine was not running at the time of the boat sinking. Now right at the start of this trip when the motor blew I had to use West Marine DFI oil because I ran out of XD-100 which is what I usually run in the motor. I had no choice because the Evinrude dealer was almost 150 miles away from where I was and I had just noticed my oil tank was just about empty, only had 1/8 of a tank left of the XD-100 oil so I filled up with the West Marine DFI oil. I thought the West Marine oil was bad so I had them test it, and it came back ok. I'd like to get an ETEC because the boat is actually a 1978 Thompson and I don't think it could handle the weight of a four stroke but I also don't want to spend 11 grand on a new motor when I could rebuild this one myself for around 2 grand. It was a pretty awesome motor!...until it blew up. I also have pictures of the insides of the block, not too sure how to upload them on here. We like to go fast which is why we keep it on full throttle for so long :) I also water tube with the boat which involves hours on end of full throttle running. I've done a couple trips up the Hudson River doing about 4-5 hours of full throttle each way and haven't had a problem. Do you guys think the motor just isn't built for the way I run the boat, also do you think an ETEC will hold up to this kind of use? Thanks again!
tedious posted 10-25-2013 12:02 PM ET (US)
When you say "hours on end of full throttle running" - do you really mean that you have the throttle wide open the whole time? That's a really unusual operating mode, as most people go for cruise speed on longer trips, to save gas, and just because it's more comfortable. And even when tubing, there's a lot of starting and stopping and different speed running. In many years of operating power boats, I don't think I have ever been at wide open throttle for more than a few minutes at a time.
If you actually run wide open for hours, you're really stressing the motor, and any weak spots will certainly show up. Think about auto racing - they have huge budgets, lots of technology, full time mechanics monitoring everything, and they still have breakdowns all the time. I don't think any outboard motor, modern or classic, will survive your operating mode for long.
Tim
jimh posted 10-25-2013 01:23 PM ET (US)
I have an E-TEC. My engine history report shows that I run at wide-open throttle for 0.06-percent of the engine running time. I think my use pattern is rather normal.
ThompsonSearaider1983 posted 10-25-2013 04:22 PM ET (US)
Yes I really do use the boat with the throttle wide open the entire time, I forgot to mention I'm 19 and so are all my friends that go water tubing, I was 16 when I got the motor on this boat so you can imagine how we run the boat... We really like to have a good time and don't care much about fuel economy because we all split the gas bill. Don't get me wrong I do all my maintenance way before it needs to be done! I change my sparkplugs twice a year because I know how hard old sparkplugs are on the ignition system, same with the lower unit oil I also change that a couple times a year because I know how hard running on full throttle is for the lower unit. As for engine oil I run the XD-100 because I know it's the absolute best two stroke oil out there, I was just caught in a pinch and had to use the West Marine DFI oil for that one outing but I had them test the oil last month and all tests came back ok. I've been told many times that I should look into those ski boats with the V8 or V10 direct drive engines because of the way I use the boat. I like this boat alot which is why I never changed to a ski boat but I'm starting to think outboards don't hold up to this kind of use. If I were to go for a new E-TEC I'd probably save up until the spring for the new E-TEC 135 V6 that just came out, now that's a cool motor! Do you guys think that V6 block will hold up to my use? Thanks for the info!
Jefecinco posted 10-25-2013 07:40 PM ET (US)
I don't believe any outboard engine will stand up to such hard use unless it is a purpose designed race engine or unless the engine is reworked by a shop specializing in race engine preparation.
For your use I highly recommend purchase of any available additional warranty period available with the purchase of a new engine. Even with a warranty a serious failure may not be covered if the ECU shows an extremely high use at WOT with high loads. Normally racing use is not covered by warranties and even if you have not been racing usage which mimics racing could be excluded from coverage.
You may be better off buying a used but reconditioned race engine from a specialty shop, using it until it fails, then buying another engine.
Or, you could save your self a lot of money by slowing down a little.
Butch
ThompsonSearaider1983 posted 10-27-2013 11:54 PM ET (US)
I'm looking at rebuilding the power head myself using Wiseco Pistons and boring the block .030 over for some extra power. I've read that their forged pistons are much stronger than the comparable OEM cast piston. I will be contacting a few outboard race prep shops in my area to see what they say about the bearings that I should use. Have any of you heard of these type of engines failing due to a leak in the fuel lift pump? I had a guy from DFI Technologies tell me that was a common issue with the Ficht motors, basically the lift pump which works with the crank case vacuum can develop a leak and "wash" away the oil from the insides of the engine. I'll be starting this rebuild Thursday and I'll let you all know how it's going. Thanks!
PeteB88 posted 10-28-2013 10:43 AM ET (US)
NineTEEN You Know What I MEAN!! freaking cool to have equipment, gear and accessories at such tender years! Go for it, keep us posted - I think it's cool you wanna tackle rebuilding the engine.
Jefecinco posted 10-29-2013 09:24 AM ET (US)
I agree with Pete and wish you luck. At your age I was building and rebuilding automobile race engines. What we were doing with engines in the fifties was often experimental and was great fun. Of course the cost factors were much less even accounting for inflation.
I recommend you get the Evinrude shop manual and engine diagnostic software before beginning the project.
Butch
weekendwarrior posted 10-29-2013 01:53 PM ET (US)
Clean piston is often the result of a leaky head gasket. The water steams and washes off all of the carbon. Check the head carefully for signs of a leaking head gasket. If that motor has one injector per cylinder then also check that injector for proper operation.
Actually a wrist pin failure does sound more like a lubrication failure. Doesn't the E-TEC have different oil consumption settings based on which oil you're using? I am wondering if the cheaper oil doesn't work correctly at the leaner oil setting, and maybe this was a lubrication related failure, that is, you should have changed the oil consumption setting when switching to the cheaper oil.
In theory a healthy engine can run wide open forever as long as you're in the proper RPM range. It will certainly wear out faster, much faster, but it shouldn't have a hard failure. However, it will get hot inside and if the gas octane is too then that can cause detonation. But, if that were the case, then I would expect a hole in the piston crown. At least this is the symptom we see on motorcycles running too low octane gas.
jimh posted 11-01-2013 08:54 AM ET (US)
Some E-TEC engines offer an option of setting the oil rate for XD100 oil use only. This decreases the oil used compared to the standard TCW-3 oil rate, but not by a huge amount. On the engines with high output rating, which Evinrude expects will be run at full throttle a disproportionate amount of their operating time, there is no option available to change the oil rate. Those engines also have dual oil pumps to push more oil into the engine when running at high RPM.
ThompsonSearaider1983 posted 11-04-2013 01:04 AM ET (US)
Well after tearing down the engine, I still don't know for sure what caused this catastrophic failure. I'm starting to think the injector leaned out and I'd like to send all my injectors out to DFI Technologies but there's a two month waiting period! I'm planning on rebuilding this motor and selling it after I've tested it and done all the proper procedures to make sure all the electrical systems work properly on the motor. I will definitely buy an Evinrude shop manual before I begin to rebuild the engine, I also found a few sellers on ebay offering the software that is needed to set the computer in the break in stage. I also didn't see any signs of water intrusion from the head of the engine, as a matter of fact I even changed the O-rings around each of the cylinder's along with the silicone sealant one year after the engine went under because I suspected steam in the exhaust. The oiling system worked fine according to the Evinrude dealer I took the engine to. They performed something called a static test to the oil pump and the mechanic said it passed, he also said there were no codes in the computer's history. After speaking to a few outboard race prep shops near by me, I was told that I should get the new 135 E-TEC HO because it's designed to be run at full throttle for extended periods and that the extra power would mean I don't have to strain the engine so much while water tubing. I hope I can get the new engine in the new color Evinrude just came out with, I can't really tell if it's a gun metal gray or black from the computer but it looks pretty awesome! Thanks for all the advice and kind words everyone!
Jefecinco posted 11-04-2013 09:31 AM ET (US)
Searaider--it's your money, but I seriously doubt you can break even on the rebuild cost of your engine much less make a profit. As an exercise to learn all there is to know about the engine there is value in the enterprise. For money it will almost certainly result in a loss.
Consider the value of selling your engine following a rebuild by a technician lacking a certificate attesting to his qualifications. Consider the current market value of any used FICHT engine following a rebuild after a serious failure even if the rebuild was performed by a certified technician in an authorized shop. What is the salvage value of your engine?
DFI's services are not inexpensive and you will have to have them rework your injectors and ECU/EMM.
Butch
wezie posted 11-06-2013 09:37 AM ET (US)
Many [Evinrude FICHT engines] ran and still run well, however, the Fitch is one reason OMC went broke. At the same time, OMC had parts quality problems. The history of the engine is dark. Personally, I would be a little interested in a new Fitch straight out of the box. Not for a lot of money! I would not touch a rebuilt one for any amount of money, unless it was to get a very special boat. Part it out.
This statement will not set well with some; however, at 10 years of age, the value or life of equipment is pretty well used up. Any decision to spend more money and large amounts on it should be questioned closely. The more complex the equipment, the more questions to ask. Before anyone on the forum has a stroke about engine age, I do have a 25 year old 2-HP Suzuki-Tohatsu, but it only has five or seven moving parts.
All of the Fitch engines are getting older. Part availability may be and soon will be getting lean. Particularly the electronic stuff. I admire your spirit and enthusiasm. We are just looking after your money. Good Luck.
ThompsonSearaider1983 posted 11-09-2013 07:13 PM ET (US)
After looking up the costs of everything, you guys are absolutely right. The motor doesn't have enough value to be worth rebuilding and on top of that all the electrical components are 10 years old and prone to failure soon. I'd say it's best to just part out the outboard and pick up the new E-TEC 135HP HO. My Evinrude dealership still needs to inspect the transom of the boat and make sure it can handle the extra weight and power of the 135 even though the boat is rated for about 140HP. If the transom looks like it won't be able to handle the E-TEC 135HP HO then I will probably go for the 115HP HO engine. I'll let you all know how the repower goes! Thanks for all the advice, you all really saved me from wasting money on that Ficht!

Hop to:

Contact Us | RETURN to ContinuousWave Top Page

Powered by: Ultimate Bulletin Board, Freeware Version 2000
Purchase our Licensed Version- which adds many more features!
© Infopop Corporation (formerly Madrona Park, Inc.), 1998 - 2000.

Author	Topic: Rebuilding a 2003 115hp Evinrude Ficht
ThompsonSearaider1983	posted 10-23-2013 08:13 PM ET (US) Hello everyone hope all is well, just about 2 months ago my 2003 115hp Evinrude Ficht Ram blew up on a lake. We were water tubing for a few hours and had no problems at all. After a few hours I came back to the boat to take it for a run by myself and after 1 1/2 hours on full throttle the motor seized up. After disassembling the power head it appears the wrist pin bearing on cylinder #2 has broken and sent aluminum everywhere in the motor. I even had shards of aluminum shoot out the intake. Took it to the Evinrude dealer and I only have one code from 50 hours ago for overheating, it was from a few years ago when I got some weeds in the water intake but I cleared it up and the motor restarted with no issues. Other than that, there are no codes on my motor. The mechanic tested all the engine systems and everything checks out fine. On the cylinder where the bearing broke it appears that the cylinder ran lean compared to the other 3 cylinders. Totally dry, zero carbon on the heads or piston which is unlike the other 3 cylinders which have mild carbon and have oil residue. I was told it's a possibility that the injector ran lean, I called DFI Technologies and they said it's highly unlikely because the 2003 motors have the updates done to the injectors and it's a low hour motor (187 hours). He suggested it could be detonation, I don't really think it could be from that because I get a full tank of fresh fuel before every trip. The gas station I go to is Exxon and sells tons of gas every day because it's on a highway. The mechanic checked both 10 micron fuel filters/water separators and both were clean, same with the oil filters and oil tank. No water in the fuel or oil. Now the boat did sink 3 years ago and I did all the proper procedures of blowing out the fuel lines, blowing out the oil lines ect the whole 9 yards... I literally rebuilt the entire boat before using it again, as for the motor I had it running 3 days after it sank because I was waiting on new replacement relays. I unplugged every electrical connection, cleaned them and put dielectric grease before reconnecting everything. Within one hour of retrieving the boat I removed the sparkplugs, flushed the engine block with fresh water and while jumping the starter I sprayed a can of fogging oil through the intake. I also sprayed another can of fogging oil in all 4 cylinders. Anyways I got another 2 seasons out of the motor before it blew. No warning signals, no rough running or symptoms of any kind when the motor blew at 5,850 RPM. Any suggestions as to why the motor blew up? Thanks!
PeteB88	posted 10-24-2013 10:27 AM ET (US) It's a FICHT? Time for ETEC. or Yamaha.
Jefecinco	posted 10-24-2013 11:04 AM ET (US) Only 187 hours on a 10 year old motor is surprising. A wrist pin bearing failure with so few hours of use is also surprising. Running the engine for 90 minutes at WOT is uncommon. That kind of use will certainly serve as a good stress test. From your description my best guess is that the bearing was defective or the installation was imperfect. Was the engine running when the boat sank? The sinking episode and the efforts to save the engine following may have caused some shock to the piston/rod assembly of the #2 cylinder. If Seahorse will add his opinion you'll probably have the best answer you're going to get. Butch
ThompsonSearaider1983	posted 10-24-2013 11:41 PM ET (US) Thanks for the replies, the engine was not running at the time of the boat sinking. Now right at the start of this trip when the motor blew I had to use West Marine DFI oil because I ran out of XD-100 which is what I usually run in the motor. I had no choice because the Evinrude dealer was almost 150 miles away from where I was and I had just noticed my oil tank was just about empty, only had 1/8 of a tank left of the XD-100 oil so I filled up with the West Marine DFI oil. I thought the West Marine oil was bad so I had them test it, and it came back ok. I'd like to get an ETEC because the boat is actually a 1978 Thompson and I don't think it could handle the weight of a four stroke but I also don't want to spend 11 grand on a new motor when I could rebuild this one myself for around 2 grand. It was a pretty awesome motor!...until it blew up. I also have pictures of the insides of the block, not too sure how to upload them on here. We like to go fast which is why we keep it on full throttle for so long :) I also water tube with the boat which involves hours on end of full throttle running. I've done a couple trips up the Hudson River doing about 4-5 hours of full throttle each way and haven't had a problem. Do you guys think the motor just isn't built for the way I run the boat, also do you think an ETEC will hold up to this kind of use? Thanks again!
tedious	posted 10-25-2013 12:02 PM ET (US) When you say "hours on end of full throttle running" - do you really mean that you have the throttle wide open the whole time? That's a really unusual operating mode, as most people go for cruise speed on longer trips, to save gas, and just because it's more comfortable. And even when tubing, there's a lot of starting and stopping and different speed running. In many years of operating power boats, I don't think I have ever been at wide open throttle for more than a few minutes at a time. If you actually run wide open for hours, you're really stressing the motor, and any weak spots will certainly show up. Think about auto racing - they have huge budgets, lots of technology, full time mechanics monitoring everything, and they still have breakdowns all the time. I don't think any outboard motor, modern or classic, will survive your operating mode for long. Tim
jimh	posted 10-25-2013 01:23 PM ET (US) I have an E-TEC. My engine history report shows that I run at wide-open throttle for 0.06-percent of the engine running time. I think my use pattern is rather normal.
ThompsonSearaider1983	posted 10-25-2013 04:22 PM ET (US) Yes I really do use the boat with the throttle wide open the entire time, I forgot to mention I'm 19 and so are all my friends that go water tubing, I was 16 when I got the motor on this boat so you can imagine how we run the boat... We really like to have a good time and don't care much about fuel economy because we all split the gas bill. Don't get me wrong I do all my maintenance way before it needs to be done! I change my sparkplugs twice a year because I know how hard old sparkplugs are on the ignition system, same with the lower unit oil I also change that a couple times a year because I know how hard running on full throttle is for the lower unit. As for engine oil I run the XD-100 because I know it's the absolute best two stroke oil out there, I was just caught in a pinch and had to use the West Marine DFI oil for that one outing but I had them test the oil last month and all tests came back ok. I've been told many times that I should look into those ski boats with the V8 or V10 direct drive engines because of the way I use the boat. I like this boat alot which is why I never changed to a ski boat but I'm starting to think outboards don't hold up to this kind of use. If I were to go for a new E-TEC I'd probably save up until the spring for the new E-TEC 135 V6 that just came out, now that's a cool motor! Do you guys think that V6 block will hold up to my use? Thanks for the info!
Jefecinco	posted 10-25-2013 07:40 PM ET (US) I don't believe any outboard engine will stand up to such hard use unless it is a purpose designed race engine or unless the engine is reworked by a shop specializing in race engine preparation. For your use I highly recommend purchase of any available additional warranty period available with the purchase of a new engine. Even with a warranty a serious failure may not be covered if the ECU shows an extremely high use at WOT with high loads. Normally racing use is not covered by warranties and even if you have not been racing usage which mimics racing could be excluded from coverage. You may be better off buying a used but reconditioned race engine from a specialty shop, using it until it fails, then buying another engine. Or, you could save your self a lot of money by slowing down a little. Butch
ThompsonSearaider1983	posted 10-27-2013 11:54 PM ET (US) I'm looking at rebuilding the power head myself using Wiseco Pistons and boring the block .030 over for some extra power. I've read that their forged pistons are much stronger than the comparable OEM cast piston. I will be contacting a few outboard race prep shops in my area to see what they say about the bearings that I should use. Have any of you heard of these type of engines failing due to a leak in the fuel lift pump? I had a guy from DFI Technologies tell me that was a common issue with the Ficht motors, basically the lift pump which works with the crank case vacuum can develop a leak and "wash" away the oil from the insides of the engine. I'll be starting this rebuild Thursday and I'll let you all know how it's going. Thanks!
PeteB88	posted 10-28-2013 10:43 AM ET (US) NineTEEN You Know What I MEAN!! freaking cool to have equipment, gear and accessories at such tender years! Go for it, keep us posted - I think it's cool you wanna tackle rebuilding the engine.
Jefecinco	posted 10-29-2013 09:24 AM ET (US) I agree with Pete and wish you luck. At your age I was building and rebuilding automobile race engines. What we were doing with engines in the fifties was often experimental and was great fun. Of course the cost factors were much less even accounting for inflation. I recommend you get the Evinrude shop manual and engine diagnostic software before beginning the project. Butch
weekendwarrior	posted 10-29-2013 01:53 PM ET (US) Clean piston is often the result of a leaky head gasket. The water steams and washes off all of the carbon. Check the head carefully for signs of a leaking head gasket. If that motor has one injector per cylinder then also check that injector for proper operation. Actually a wrist pin failure does sound more like a lubrication failure. Doesn't the E-TEC have different oil consumption settings based on which oil you're using? I am wondering if the cheaper oil doesn't work correctly at the leaner oil setting, and maybe this was a lubrication related failure, that is, you should have changed the oil consumption setting when switching to the cheaper oil. In theory a healthy engine can run wide open forever as long as you're in the proper RPM range. It will certainly wear out faster, much faster, but it shouldn't have a hard failure. However, it will get hot inside and if the gas octane is too then that can cause detonation. But, if that were the case, then I would expect a hole in the piston crown. At least this is the symptom we see on motorcycles running too low octane gas.
jimh	posted 11-01-2013 08:54 AM ET (US) Some E-TEC engines offer an option of setting the oil rate for XD100 oil use only. This decreases the oil used compared to the standard TCW-3 oil rate, but not by a huge amount. On the engines with high output rating, which Evinrude expects will be run at full throttle a disproportionate amount of their operating time, there is no option available to change the oil rate. Those engines also have dual oil pumps to push more oil into the engine when running at high RPM.
ThompsonSearaider1983	posted 11-04-2013 01:04 AM ET (US) Well after tearing down the engine, I still don't know for sure what caused this catastrophic failure. I'm starting to think the injector leaned out and I'd like to send all my injectors out to DFI Technologies but there's a two month waiting period! I'm planning on rebuilding this motor and selling it after I've tested it and done all the proper procedures to make sure all the electrical systems work properly on the motor. I will definitely buy an Evinrude shop manual before I begin to rebuild the engine, I also found a few sellers on ebay offering the software that is needed to set the computer in the break in stage. I also didn't see any signs of water intrusion from the head of the engine, as a matter of fact I even changed the O-rings around each of the cylinder's along with the silicone sealant one year after the engine went under because I suspected steam in the exhaust. The oiling system worked fine according to the Evinrude dealer I took the engine to. They performed something called a static test to the oil pump and the mechanic said it passed, he also said there were no codes in the computer's history. After speaking to a few outboard race prep shops near by me, I was told that I should get the new 135 E-TEC HO because it's designed to be run at full throttle for extended periods and that the extra power would mean I don't have to strain the engine so much while water tubing. I hope I can get the new engine in the new color Evinrude just came out with, I can't really tell if it's a gun metal gray or black from the computer but it looks pretty awesome! Thanks for all the advice and kind words everyone!
Jefecinco	posted 11-04-2013 09:31 AM ET (US) Searaider--it's your money, but I seriously doubt you can break even on the rebuild cost of your engine much less make a profit. As an exercise to learn all there is to know about the engine there is value in the enterprise. For money it will almost certainly result in a loss. Consider the value of selling your engine following a rebuild by a technician lacking a certificate attesting to his qualifications. Consider the current market value of any used FICHT engine following a rebuild after a serious failure even if the rebuild was performed by a certified technician in an authorized shop. What is the salvage value of your engine? DFI's services are not inexpensive and you will have to have them rework your injectors and ECU/EMM. Butch
wezie	posted 11-06-2013 09:37 AM ET (US) Many [Evinrude FICHT engines] ran and still run well, however, the Fitch is one reason OMC went broke. At the same time, OMC had parts quality problems. The history of the engine is dark. Personally, I would be a little interested in a new Fitch straight out of the box. Not for a lot of money! I would not touch a rebuilt one for any amount of money, unless it was to get a very special boat. Part it out. This statement will not set well with some; however, at 10 years of age, the value or life of equipment is pretty well used up. Any decision to spend more money and large amounts on it should be questioned closely. The more complex the equipment, the more questions to ask. Before anyone on the forum has a stroke about engine age, I do have a 25 year old 2-HP Suzuki-Tohatsu, but it only has five or seven moving parts. All of the Fitch engines are getting older. Part availability may be and soon will be getting lean. Particularly the electronic stuff. I admire your spirit and enthusiasm. We are just looking after your money. Good Luck.
ThompsonSearaider1983	posted 11-09-2013 07:13 PM ET (US) After looking up the costs of everything, you guys are absolutely right. The motor doesn't have enough value to be worth rebuilding and on top of that all the electrical components are 10 years old and prone to failure soon. I'd say it's best to just part out the outboard and pick up the new E-TEC 135HP HO. My Evinrude dealership still needs to inspect the transom of the boat and make sure it can handle the extra weight and power of the 135 even though the boat is rated for about 140HP. If the transom looks like it won't be able to handle the E-TEC 135HP HO then I will probably go for the 115HP HO engine. I'll let you all know how the repower goes! Thanks for all the advice, you all really saved me from wasting money on that Ficht!